Biden plans to ban drilling in coastal waters before Trump's inauguration…
Double the impact...
Two “President Biden is taking a bold step by prohibiting oil and gas drilling in certain federal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This move, anchored in a well-established legal foundation, could pose a challenge for any future Trump administration that might seek to undo it. This decision comes on the heels of Biden's recent green light for Ukraine to deploy long-range U.S. missiles against Russian positions…
Happy Sabbath…
At first, we welcomed the year's inaugural Shabbat with open hearts, eager to share joy and positivity. Yet, the unsettling happenings in New Orleans and Las Vegas, coupled with whispers of a new SARC variant, cast a shadow over our spirits. To add to our woes, we’ve been battling a relentless cold, complete with feverish discomfort…
Back in 2016, we unveiled our last literary gem, "The Owner of Non Man Lan and Other Tales." Among its tales lies a vivid recounting of the Panama invasion, an event we witnessed firsthand, ensuring every detail is steeped in truth and accuracy.
Life, with its bittersweet blend of sorrow and joy, reminds us that both are essential to our journey. We strive to weave humor into our storytelling, lightening the weight of our narratives.
In the midst of these turbulent times, we feel a pull to delve into the roots of the unrest surrounding us. In a delightful twist, Pablo Neruda’s "Delirium Stadium of Fever," In his memoirs “I confess that I have lived”, set against the mesmerizing backdrop of Ceylon, tells of a young girl who visits the poet, hoping to ease his suffering. This tale serves as a heartfelt call to uplift the marginalized. Meanwhile, the other Pablo Neruda, a connoisseur of exquisite Bordeaux, particularly Gran Crux, has likely let his collection gather dust over the years.
This contemplation has sparked an idea for a story featuring Elvis Presley performing in Red Square, (Fran Séres Conte russos) intertwined with the life of a 61-year-old Russian KGB agent living in the U.S. under the alias Joseph B. Newman. One fateful day, he watches the Berlin Wall crumble on television. His true name is Dmitri, a man who has spent nearly three decades in hiding, leaving behind a family he longs for. Forgotten by his superiors, he waits in vain for orders, trapped in a life built on a crumbling ideology in a country that has turned its back on him.
It is important to note that, despite the historical subjugation of the Russian populace since the era of the Romanovs, who notably appropriated their Fabergé collections, there seems to be a deficiency in literary representation comparable to that found in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment." This observation prompts inquiries regarding the nature of the world we inhabit.
Last night, I found myself enchanted by the whimsical thoughts of the theatrical and psychedelic Peruvian journalist, Jaime Baily. He explored the fascinating prospect of a Venezuelan diplomat potentially taking over his position on January 10th. It seems that the once-elusive chimera—the hope, the dream, the vision of justice and democracy—is finally starting to take shape... Inchala… Amén…
At long last, the aspiration of this humble blog is to unveil the second edition of along with a collection of captivat "The Owner of Non Man Lan and Other Tales." This new edition will feature the intriguing narrative that delves into the struggles of the psyche, titled: Marilyn was told by a policeman that he was a good thief.... "—a tribute to the esteemed Nicaraguan poet, Ernesto Cardenal.
To bring this vision to life, we’re gearing up for a fundraising campaign, inviting you to join us on this exciting journey. The edition will be in English, and we’ve already reached out to a British publisher to help us make this dream a reality!
Thank to all…
Today…
Operation ‘Just Cause’
Panama is vital to the U.S. due to the Canal's significance in global trade and U.S. influence since the early 1900s. By the late 1980s, tensions escalated under military leader Manuel Noriega, accused of drug trafficking and human rights violations. His oppressive regime and electoral fraud incited unrest. The killing of U.S. officer Robert Paz and assaults on Americans led President George H.W. Bush to initiate Operation Just Cause to protect lives and secure the Canal while honoring treaties.
By Germán Toro GhioCarter’s Panama Canal Treaties Symbolize How Much Washington Has Changed
To return the canal to Panama, President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations…
*Peter Baker published in The New York Times, dated January 2, 2025, and originating from Washington, D.C.Before Trump Takes Office, Biden to Ban Drilling in Some Coastal Waters…
Move would be difficult for incoming administration to undo…
According to an article by Scott Patterson published in the Wall Street Journal on January 3, 2025.Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk
The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires…
You can't possibly deny me...
Have a wonderful day filled with good health, happiness, and love…
In December 2023, Energy Central recognized outstanding contributors within the Energy & Sustainability Network during the 'Top Voices' event. The recipients of this honor were highlighted in six articles, showcasing the acknowledgment from the community. The platform facilitates professionals in disseminating their work, engaging with peers, and collaborating with industry influencers. Congratulations are extended to the 2023 Top Voices: David Hunt, Germán Toro Ghio, Schalk Cloete, and Dan Yurman for their exemplary demonstration of expertise. - Matt Chester, Energy Central
Gratitude is a vital aspect of our existence...
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Thank you for being a part of our journey! Your generous support is truly invaluable to us! It plays a crucial role in helping us achieve our goals and make a positive impact. Thank you for being such an important part of our journey!
You can't possibly deny me...
Have a wonderful day filled with good health, happiness, and love…
Natural Gas Terminal AES ANDRES, located in the Dominican Republic. Image provided by AES Dominicana.
Andrés Gluski, President and CEO of AES, articulated this perspective during the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2023, stating, "I am confident we will need natural gas for the next 20 years." He further emphasized, "We can start blending it with green hydrogen today."
Operation ‘Just Cause’
By Germán Toro Ghio
Forewords…
Panama is essential to U.S. interests because of the Canal's strategic role in global commerce, with U.S. influence in the country dating back to the early 20th century. By the late 1980s, tensions escalated as Manuel Antonio Noriega, Panama's military leader, faced allegations of drug trafficking and human rights violations. His authoritarian rule and manipulation of the 1989 elections caused widespread discontent and chaos. The assassination of U.S. officer Robert Paz and attacks on American citizens led the George H.W. Bush administration to launch Operation Just Cause, aimed at protecting American lives, dismantling drug trafficking, and securing the Panama Canal while honoring treaties.
This evening, we wish to in some exquisite jazz...
We had just arrived at our room on the top floor of a hotel in the centre of Panama City. It was a few minutes to midnight on Tuesday 19th December, 1989. Earlier, Isaac Abrahamsson, my wife’s cousins had invited us to Las Bóvedas, a jazz club in the old town, for around 8:15 PM.
We were picked up at the hotel. Slowly, we began to move to that side of the city. As we approached the perimeter of the old colonial district, we were stopped at a military checkpoint. After greeting the officer on duty, our host politely asked him:
‘What seems to be the issue, Lieutenant?
The uniformed man responded with a rigidity common to such ranks of the military:
‘The president is attending an official ceremony, sir’.
While the answer suggested nothing out of the ordinary, it meant we were unable to reach the jazz club and had to return to the modern part of the city, where we looked for a restaurant to have dinner. When we found one, I noticed that it was oddly crowded for a Tuesday.
As we made our way to the table the waiter had pointed to, Isaac Abrahamson, my wife’s cousin, greeted several people.
‘How are things?’, Isaac asked one of them.
‘Well, very well’, they replied.
As we sat down, Isaac told us about the people he had greeted.
‘Some of them are —paisanos—. Others are ministers…
Four ministers of General Manuel Antonio Noriega’s regime were at the restaurant, which meant that everything was calm. As the clock inched closer to midnight, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
We had been in Panama for about two weeks, and that night I felt tired. I lay in bed while my wife went through her bedtime routines. I was beginning to fall asleep when I experienced a loud explosion that resembled the sound of a bomb detonation. Morments later the phone rang. I answered immediately and recognised Isaac’s voice on the other end of the line.
‘They're invading’, he said in a desperate tone. Before he hung up, I heard another explosion. Then, there was the roar of another and another before the explosions continued unabated. It was real—Panama City was being bombed.
This is how Operation ‘Just Cause’ began, through which the Americans intended to remove General Noriega from power and imprison him. My wife and I huddled in fear on the highest floor of our hotel, the world outside a cacophony of chaos. The thunderous blasts of bombs echoed through the air, while helicopters sliced through the night with their ominous whirring. The sharp crack of machine guns punctuated the tension, and amidst it all, I could hear the eerie whistle of rockets soaring ominously in every direction.
The phone rang again, this time from the receptionist, who informed us that we were to be moved to a lower floor as a security measure. Almost as soon as I hung up, hotel staff arrived to gather our belongings and move us to another room.
In our new room, we heard helicopters fly past increasingly often, and we perceived the bombs and gunshots to be getting closer. Then, the power cut out, which made us panic out of fear. To protect ourselves, we took refuge in the bathroom, which seemed like the safest place. We lay on the ground in the dark, listening to exchanges of fire and the shudder of bombs. While at times there were moments of total silence, they were always broken again suddenly by the sound of weapons. Trapped by our uncertainty, every second seemed to be drawn out.
‘That shot was very close. I’m scared!’, my wife whispered after a thunderous bang.
I tried to calm her down, but the frequent explosions rendered my attempts futile. We were totally alone.
As the hours went by, the situation outside did not improve. We awoke to explosions, which had not diminished. The shooting did not let up during the day either, so we had a long and uncertain wait. A few metres from the hotel was the Telecommunications Palace. Attempting to alleviate my boredom at fairly high risk, I looked out the window to see the place being mercilessly assaulted by armed forces from the air and land. Now, the explosions were less than 400 metres away. We felt the exchange of gunfire on top of us and could hear loud voices and music from loudspeakers mounted on helicopters.
The next night came and, with it, the shelling and machine gun fire intensified. As we lay on the bathroom floor, I realised we’d been taking shelter in the hotel for a full 24 hours.
The second night was a nightmare that felt like it would never end. Unable to bear our situation any longer, I came up with a plan and told my wife about it:
‘We have only one possibility—get help from the Swedish Consulate’, I said, which reassured her.
The dawn of Thursday 21st December arrived with rays of light filtering through the small bathroom window. We had brought the hotel room’s phone closer to us so that we could use it from the bathroom. At about 5 AM, I managed to get through to the Swedish Consul. I had called him at home several times earlier in the morning, but he hadn’t answered. By the timbre of his voice, he was an old man.
He was also not a career diplomat; rather, he was one of those so-called honorary consuls who serve little purpose. In that moment, he was useless. Our conversation, which lasted for several minutes, led nowhere. Instead, it turned into a brawl with an incompetent official.
I lost patience and told him to go and fry monkeys in the African jungle. While I got my point across, our only chance of help had vanished.
‘You are too fucking old, man!’, I ended up yelling at him. Mierda…
Normally, my wife and I spent this important time of the year in Panama. As such, we knew the political situation of the country in depth, like the Panamanians. Over time, we’d heard details of the tactics proposed in various statements by the Battalions of Dignity, who had been aware of an imminent invasion by the United States.
Anyone who was aware of this background knew at the storm was far from over. . With each passing day, fears loomed heavy, one of which was the possibility that the Battalions of Dignity, an armed popular movement, might just rise to meet the mounting expectations placed upon them.
As a civil movement related to General Noriega, the Battalions of Dignity had received military training from the Panama Defence Forces. Much was said about them, including how radical their actions could be. It had been mentioned that in the event of an invasion by foreign forces, they would kidnap foreigners with impunity, especially U.S. citizens, whom they knew were mainly to be found in hotels. They would then seek to use them as human shields.
Sheltering on the floor of our small bathroom, unable to sleep, we felt totally helpless. We couldn't come up with any ideas—no one could do anything for us. Then, we felt the bombardment of Operation Just Cause intensifying. Pushed by uncertainty, we finally agreed on a strategy in case the Battalions of Dignity or the U.S. Army entered the hotel.
Mid-morning on Friday 22nd, we heard a violent knock on the room door. It seemed like the person outside wanted to beat the door down.
‘Open up! Open!’, the person shouted while knocking aggressively.
‘Who is it?’, I asked.
However, the voice on the other end persisted:
‘Open up or we're going to shoot!’
The order had become a threat. I made an inference based on the man’s tone of voice.
‘They are from the Battalions of Dignity’, I whispered in my wife’s ear. ‘Quick, get your passport’.
I opened the door to see five guerrilla fighters of the battalion. Looking excited and nervous, they spoke in a hurried, desperate manner.
‘Where are you from?’, one of them asked.
My wife quickly handed him her Nicaraguan passport.
‘We are from Nicaragua’, she replied.
The bravest fighter checked the passport closely, which did not take him long.
‘And who is he?’, he asked as he fixed his gaze on me.
‘He’s my husband’, my wife said.
He looked at me carefully.
‘It is okay’, he said cautiously.
Then, he offered a warning:
he added, "Watch out, the gringos are on their way." ‘
The militiaman’s advice, though warning us of danger, came as a relief as his fury had abated. Although my wife and I remained on tenterhooks, we realised that we had made it through an extremely dangerous moment.
When they left, we returned to sheltering on the bathroom floor. That afternoon, the phone rang. It was my friend Harald Falt, the Swedish Ambassador to Nicaragua, who had managed to locate us after many phone calls.
‘How are you?’, he asked.
I began to feel relieved. I told him about our situation and perilous experiences. Harald informed me that he had notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm about our situation. He had also put our names on an emergency list.
‘From Europe, a NATO plane is being coordinated to evacuate European citizens in Panama’, he said.
I thanked him warmly for calming our spirits. Now this was a diplomat who could do the job he was appointed to do.
Until Saturday 23rd, the hotel had managed to serve guests a minimum supply of food and drinks. However, from the third day onwards, we began to feel the ravages in the quantity of provisions and shortage of staff. Subtly, the hotel management suggested that we leave the hotel.
Given the superiority of the U.S. forces, the invasion had not been met with much resistance. Besides, on the fourth day, fierce clashes still raged between the military factions closest to General Noriega and the invading forces. The most intense fighting was in Chorrillos, a popular neighbourhood of Panama City.
Operation Just Cause had the sole mission of capturing General Noriega; but, by the fourth day, he could still not be found.
Significant fractions of the Panamanian police and army had withdrawn, leaving the country without authorities to ensure public order. This triggered a state of anarchy that manifested in a wave of looting and vandalism, which, in turn, became new focal points of armed confrontations between the owners of commercial establishments, defending their property, and the looters.
Sunday 24th, Christmas Eve, was the fourth day of the operation. With all the restrictions and the hotel management’s ‘friendly’ invitation to leave, my wife and I couldn't be unhappier. Our misfortune felt like the most intense darkness that one feels when a new day is approaching. Raquel Abrahamson, Isaac’s wife, called us on the phone, which I passed to my wife. In an act of solidarity, Raquel had a plan to rescue us.
"I'll swing by in 15 minutes," she announced. "Make sure you're all set. Alright, we'll be waiting for you in the hotel lobby!"
Like a Mossad agent, Raquel carried out the rescue operation impeccably.
‘Damn my car has been stolen. They took my new blue Mercedes!’, she said in the car while driving. However, none of us paid any attention to what she was saying due to the war-like scenes around us.
Isaac, a man with what seemed like a thousand and one passports, was waiting for us at the house. He was born in Switzerland, raised in Brazil, studied in the United States, and earned a master’s degree in the United Kingdom. He had married my wife’s first cousin, who was Jewish, and they had put down roots in Panama. He had then obtained Panamanian citizenship.
Isaac became a well-known art dealer and owned an impressive gallery in the city. His life was spent between the art auctions of New York and Panama City. This good man—an always positive, extraordinarily methodical, well-educated, peaceful pipe smoker and music lover— frequently found a way to escape his thoughts.
While being methodical is a virtue, such a trait can sometimes drive people to madness. Isaac documented every chronological detail of every event he experienced—the year, month, day, and hour, even down to minutes and seconds.
He also scored without haste. How much had a particular item cost him? He knew the figure immediately. Who had he bought it from? He had it written down. Who had he sold it to? He had the answer. What had his wife done that day? He could tell you. In this last area, he was patient and diligent. Perhaps, Isaac could have been a better narrator than Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga himself in La Araucana because of his passion for recording details.
I had known Isaac for several years. Over time, we had established a solid friendship, united by our shared enthusiasm for paintings. On several occasions, we had also done good business together.
Raquel and Isaac lived in La Cresta, one of Panama City’s most exclusive areas. They had a huge apartment. To prevent any unwanted visits, Isaac had protected the doors with armour. In this sense, the house was a fortress.
Inside, one was confused as to whether it was a house or a museum. It honestly felt more like a museum. Once we arrived, our main concern changed from dodging stray bullets to not breaking some priceless work of art, which paying for could leave us broke for life. We wandered around the apartment with extreme care and attention, but despite the need to move cautiously, we felt much calmer than at the hotel.
However, Raquel and Isaac told us that they were worried as most of the artworks they owned remained at the gallery. At any moment, they could be looted. Together, we began to plan a second rescue operation to retrieve the paintings.
The most difficult matter was locating a locked truck. We required a daring driver to undertake the adventure for a good few balboas. The rest of the challenge lay in defying adversity. As Raquel had unconditionally brought us from our hotel to their apartment, we didn’t hesitate for a moment about joining the mission. However, to reach the gallery, we had to cross a long stretch of the city, which involved the risk of us being injured or robbed.
On Monday 26th of December, the sixth day of Operation Just Cause, we got the truck along with a driver with the help of some neighbours. We started the trip to the gallery that morning. During the journey, we heard constant gunshots. No one let their guard down until we reached the destination.
The entire mission took us approximately 45 minutes. The gallery was built mostly of glass, which made sense as the works could be seen from the outside. However, at that moment, this style of architecture did not feel beneficial, and every time we took one of the artworks down from the walls, we heard the gunfire getting increasingly close.
Once the paintings had been loaded into the truck, the gunfire increased in intensity, causing a dramatic increase in our anxiety. Raquel’s DNA appeared to have betrayed her, as her innate attachment to material belongings had put the lives of our team at risk. I asked myself the following question:
‘What chucha does this cousin do in the gallery?’
I went back inside to find Raquel eagerly removing the nails the pictures had been hung on the walls with. ‘It can't be, it can't be’, I thought. ‘She wants to take absolutely everything!’ Seeing this caused me to run out of patience.
‘Stop that, please. Do you want them to kill us because of you?’, I shouted. Then, pulling her by the arm, we ran out of the building together. Between the scene’s absurdity and complexity, Isaac looked happy about the harsh scolding he gave his wife in exquisite Chilean.
On the way home, we had to find shortcuts to move forward as mobs of looters had mobilised throughout the streets. On more than one occasion, shots rang out that made us stop for safety.
Back at the apartment, Isaac overflowed with joy and gratitude. He was thrilled to have his things safe, and he offered us all manner of attention.
As the days passed, our sense of nostalgia for our own home grew. Every morning, Harald called to give me the lowdown regarding our evacuation from Panama. In the last call, he added three new elements to the unfortunate situation: First, General Noriega had not been captured; second, Panamanian airspace remained closed; and third, the airport had been seriously damaged and was only being used for military purposes by the U.S. Army. The news, although not encouraging, was at least revealing.
We lived Isaac’s methodical practices each day. Just a few weeks previously, he had become a father to a child named Moshe. Isaac had made a film of the birth, which he proudly—and repeatedly—showed us. With passion, he narrated each stage of childbirth. He bit his pipe while laughing happily, admiring the arrival of his son. In his peculiar Spanish, he recounted the following:
"With a weight of 5 kilos and 535 grams, and a length of 54 centimeters, Moshe beamed with pride and declared, 'Ah, that's the beauty of nature!'"
There was also no shortage of the best Brazilian music. Isaac always offered everything.
‘Whatever you want, I’ll record it for you’, he promised.
I had never seen such a collection of records, and so carefully classified.
On the morning of December 27th, a family friend called to say that he thought he had seen Raquel’s blue Mercedes at a barricade on the way to the airport—although he couldn’t be certain. Why say that? In less time than we took to react, Raquel had already plotted the third mission with the goal of bringing her car home.
Isaac made his way to the library and began to look through photo albums for a photo of the car. It took him a while but he found one, and we immediately set off, encountering more than a few confrontations along the way. On several occasions, we considered aborting the mission, but Raquel’s insistence made us continue. She wanted her car back no matter the risk level.
We found the blue Mercedes barricaded outside a supermarket. At least 40 people were behind the car, and the supermarket was being looted. Raquel got out the car and went towards the improvised troops, who acted quickly.
‘This car is mine!’, she shouted insistently at them.
Isaac was behind showing the photo that identified the Mercedes as her property. One of the members of the group, as if he were an authority, looked at Raquel.
‘The vehicle has been confiscated and declared useful for the war’, he said.
Raquel was not daunted.
‘War or anything—the car is mine!’, she retorted confrontationally.
Some in the crowd began to badmouth her.
‘Sold gringa!’, shouted one. ‘Get out of here!’
However, Raquel made such a fuss that they eventually gave in out of fatigue.
The Mercedes contained a prize as the looters had been using it to transport stolen goods. Raquel opened the car boot to find an entire supermarket of goods, causing her face to beam with delight. She immediately claimed the provisions as her own. However, the day’s events had exhausted our group and another fight broke out over Raquel’s nature, requiring mediation to calm everyone down.
On Thursday 28th December, night had fallen when the phone rang.
‘It’s Harald, the ambassador’, Isaac said.
When I heard my friend’s voice, I was filled with emotion.
‘Fernando’, he told me, ‘NATO has obtained permission from the United States for a plane to land tomorrow in Panama. The plane will leave Panama City at 1 o'clock in the afternoon bound for San Jose, Costa Rica’.
‘What good news! What joy!’, I exclaimed.
I informed Isaac, who offered to take us to the airport. That night, we prepared the little we had with us. On Friday 29th, very early in the morning, we were ready to leave this desvated country. Before we left, Isaac carefully placed each of his passports in different pants pockets, except for his American passport, which he put in his left shirt pocket.
General Noriega had taken refuge in a Catholic nunnery. Moreover, the invading forces employed a variety of strategies to instil fear in the increasingly isolated Panamanian military, including psychological warfare tactics. These tactics encompassed the incessant playing of loud music throughout the day and night, as well as the continuous overflight of helicopters above the Vatican's diplomatic headquarters.
The journey to the airport, which would normally take around 30 minutes, took more than 2.5 hours. Every time we encountered a U.S. Army barricade, Isaac got out of the car and walked purposefully, with a unique courage, toward the military personnel. He took his U.S. passport in his right hand and raised it high, while his pipe did not leave his left hand.
‘I’m an American’, he repeated, ‘and I've come to drop off my cousins who are going to leave on a NATO plane’.
The commandos approached the car, examined it, asked for my passport, studied it carefully, and let us continue. It was a scene repeated at least five times. On that journey, we experienced almost as much anguish and uncertainty as we had in the eight days we had been trapped in the country.
The penultimate surprise came when we arrived at the airport, which was in ruins. There was no one to turn to and nowhere to go.
‘And what shall we do now?’, my wife asked. ‘Wait’, I answered. ‘We can only wait’.
Isaac waited with us. As hours passed, Europeans who were going to leave on the same emergency flight arrived. When there were many passengers, an officer appeared with a list and reviewed each person on it. We bid Isaac farewell with emotion and great affection, thanking him for all the attention.
The plane landed a few minutes before 1 PM. The final surprise was that the plane was an impressive Hercules C-130, commonly used for transporting troops. At first, we didn’t even know how to sit down; however, all 55 evacuees were eventually accommodated onboard. It was approaching 2 PM when the plane took off. As these giant aircraft are so heavy, they fly slowly, so the flight was twice as long as a commercial flight. After more than 2 hours of flying, we reached Costa Rica, where the German ambassador was waiting to welcome us.
We were in the first round of evacuees to leave Panama following the invasion. General Noriega was in the second, but he of course left the country for a different destination—namely Miami, Florida, on 3rd January 1990. Two Black Hawk helicopters were used for what would be a one-way trip to his imprisonment.
Image Germán & Co
Carter’s Panama Canal Treaties Symbolize How Much Washington Has Changed
To return the canal to Panama, President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations….
*Peter Baker published in The New York Times, dated January 2, 2025, and originating from Washington, D.C.*Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework.
When President Jimmy Carter traveled to Panama in June 1978 to finalize hotly disputed treaties turning over the Panama Canal, he declared that “we stand on the threshold of a new era.”
More than 46 years later, that era may be over, if President-elect Donald J. Trump has his way.
Mr. Carter always considered the twin treaties to be signature achievements that would figure prominently in his obituary. Indeed, for all the fireworks they generated at the time, the canal treaties have been broadly accepted ever since as a settled matter and the bedrock of the U.S. relationship with Latin America.
Yet paradoxically, just days before Mr. Carter’s death at age 100 on Sunday, Mr. Trump seemingly out of the blue propelled the nearly half-century-old issue back onto the national agenda, complaining about shipping fees and Chinese influence. If Panama does not make changes, he said, “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”
Mr. Trump did not say how he would force such an outcome, and some analysts were skeptical that it amounted to more than a blustery bargaining position. But the timing of his threat focused new attention on an old issue, recalling an episode in Mr. Carter’s presidency that many Americans today may not remember or know much about.
“Through a bizarre accident of timing, we now have one president fantasizing about taking back the canal at just the time the world recognizes the canal transfer as an important part of a late president’s legacy,” said James Fallows, who was Mr. Carter’s speechwriter at the time and accompanied the president on that 1978 trip to Panama.
The story of Mr. Carter’s successful efforts to turn the canal over to Panama was one of the defining moments of his tenure and amounts to a case study in how much Washington has changed since then. Despite ferocious opposition on the political right led by a former California governor named Ronald Reagan, Mr. Carter managed what seems impossible to imagine today — a relentless drive that actually changed minds and built bipartisan support to do something with little political payoff and plenty of political risk.
By most accounts, the turnover of the canal improved U.S. relations in Latin America and stabilized the situation for U.S. shipping to avoid what many feared would be upheaval and even violence. The turnover was seen by opponents as a blow to American pride and national interests since, after all, the United States had built the canal. But even Mr. Reagan came to accept the treaties and never tried to upend them once he became president.
The issue was inherited by Mr. Carter, who by his own acknowledgment knew little about it when he first ran for president in 1976. The original Panama Canal treaty was signed in 1903. In one of the great engineering feats of modern history, the United States built the canal between 1904 and 1914, and operated it thereafter.
But over time, it became an issue of national pride for Panama, and mass riots in 1964 killed four American soldiers and 20 Panamanians. Panama’s government cut off diplomatic relations with the United States until President Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to negotiate a new treaty ceding sovereignty.
That effort broke down in 1968 when Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera seized power in Panama in a military coup. President Richard M. Nixon eventually reopened negotiations in 1970 and President Gerald R. Ford continued them when he took over.
But Mr. Reagan, challenging Mr. Ford for the Republican nomination in 1976, made control of the canal a powerful attack line. “We bought it, we paid for it, we built it and we intend to keep it,” Mr. Reagan memorably declared.
Mr. Ford won the nomination but lost the general election to Mr. Carter. During the transition, Mr. Ford told his successor that the canal was a more pressing issue than Middle East peace or arms talks with the Soviet Union. To educate himself, Mr. Carter read “The Path Between the Seas,” David McCullough’s award-winning account of the building of the canal.
Mr. Reagan, left, made control of the canal a powerful attack line when he challenged President Gerald R. Ford, right, for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976. Mr. Ford won the primary, but lost the general election to Mr. Carter.Credit...Dirck Halstead/Getty Images
The new president came to see it as an issue of justice. “It’s obvious that we cheated the Panamanians out of their canal,” he wrote in his diary. In his memoir, he called tension over the canal a “diplomatic cancer.”
But it was also a matter of security. Military officials told Mr. Carter at the time that it would require up to 100,000 American troops to defend the canal against an uprising.
To overcome concerns about losing control, Mr. Carter negotiated two treaties with Panama. In addition to the main agreement outlining joint operation of the canal until its turnover by 2000, the second treaty stipulated that the canal would be neutral, with U.S. shipping guaranteed access, and that the United States would be permitted to use armed force to keep it open.
Mr. Carter invited leaders from across Latin America to a celebratory signing ceremony on Sept. 7, 1977, meant to highlight American respect for its neighbors. General Torrijos was so overcome by emotion that he broke down and sobbed in a private room with Mr. Carter before the ceremony.
But ratification in the Senate “seemed impossible,” as Mr. Carter recalled in his memoir, “Keeping Faith.” A Gallup poll showed that only 39 percent of Americans supported the treaties while 46 percent opposed them.
Mr. Carter was undaunted. A stubborn man who saw political expediency as a cardinal sin, he made ratification his top priority, working night and day to convince the public and the Senate. He teamed up with Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. of Tennessee, the Republican leader, while lobbying conservatives like Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona and enlisting the aid of prominent Republicans like Mr. Ford and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger.
He got help from influential conservative voices like William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review, and even the iconic cowboy actor John Wayne, a strong Reagan ally. Mr. Wayne, whose first wife was Panamanian, even wrote a letter to his friend Mr. Reagan chastising him for “misinforming people.”
Mr. Carter was so personally invested that he kept a notebook on his desk with a section for each senator to record the latest information on their position. “It’s hard to concentrate on anything except Panama,” he told his diary.
His efforts shifted public sentiments, with polls now showing more support than opposition. But just two days before the first vote, he nearly despaired. “This has been one of the worst days, knowing that we were lost, then gaining a little hope,” he recorded in the diary.
On March 16, 1978, after 22 days of debate, the Senate voted on the second treaty first, on the assumption that it would be easier to support the agreement guaranteeing American rights to defend the canal. Mr. Carter listened in his private office, checking each senator’s vote on a tally sheet. “I had never been more tense in my life,” he wrote in his memoir. The treaty was approved 68 to 32, winning one vote more than necessary.
Mr. Carter and Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera, the leader of Panama, after signing the ratified treaties in June 1978. “I had never been more tense in my life,” Mr. Carter wrote of the ratification vote in the U.S. Senate.Credit...Bettmann, via Getty Images
It was a major victory, but Mr. Carter still needed to push through the other, more disputed treaty. A key vote belonged to Senator S.I. Hayakawa, Republican of California.
A colorful character, Mr. Hayakawa gave Mr. Carter a copy of a book on semantics that he had written. Mr. Carter, ever the dutiful student, read it that night, then called the senator the next day and demonstrated enough knowledge to prove that he really had.
That still was not enough, so finally, playing to senatorial vanity, Mr. Baker arranged to call Mr. Carter with Mr. Hayakawa listening to ask if the president needed to meet occasionally with the California senator to get his advice on foreign affairs. “I gulped, thought for a few seconds, and replied, ‘Yes, I really do!’ hoping God would forgive me,” Mr. Carter later wrote.
Jonathan Alter, author of “His Very Best,” a 2020 biography of Mr. Carter, wrote that Mr. Hayakawa wanted Mr. Carter to commit to meeting every two weeks. “Sam, I couldn’t possibly limit our visits to every two weeks,” Mr. Carter replied cleverly. “I might want to hear your advice more often!” Mr. Hayakawa signed onto the treaty and, as Mr. Alter wrote, “that was the last time S.I. Hayakawa ever spoke to Jimmy Carter.”
The Senate approved the other treaty by the same 68 to 32 vote on April 18, 1978. Mr. Fallows, who just returned from a trip to the Panama Canal last month, called it “one of Jimmy Carter’s most important, if least remembered, diplomatic and legislative achievements.”
It came at a cost. Seven senators who voted for the treaties lost re-election just months later. But Mr. Reagan came to believe the treaties were worth keeping and thus ensured their survival, at least until now.
“Once he became president, he never revisited the issue and actually benefited policy-wise from Carter’s political courage in returning the canal to Panama,” said William Inboden, author of “The Peacemaker,” about Mr. Reagan’s foreign policy. “I think it is one of Carter’s most consequential Latin America foreign policy legacies.”
Still, Mr. Inboden, director of the Hamilton Center at the University of Florida, said that “while Trump’s musing about the U.S. retaking the canal is crass and unrealistic, it still highlights a serious concern about China’s growing influence in the region.”
But Mr. Alter said that Mr. Carter’s move had secured American interests. “That basic calculus has not changed,” he said on Thursday. “After all these years of Panama successfully running the canal, there’s no question that Trump breaking the treaties would lead to extensive violence, even war, there and a critical artery of global commerce would be at least temporarily shut.”
Image by Germán & Co
Before Trump Takes Office, Biden to Ban Drilling in Some Coastal Waters…
Move would be difficult for incoming administration to undo…
According to an article by Scott Patterson published in the Wall Street Journal on January 3, 2025.WASHINGTON—President Biden is planning to ban oil and gas drilling in certain federal waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans using a decades-old law that could make it difficult for the incoming Trump administration to reverse.
Here’s what to know about the expected ban:
The Details:
The decree, which could come as soon as next week, is expected to invoke the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives the president wide latitude to withdraw from consideration currently unleased lands in federal offshore waters, according to people familiar with the White House plans. The law has been invoked a handful of times and doesn’t include a procedure for a new president to undo actions by a predecessor.
The law was tested during President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration, which attempted to reopen swaths of the Arctic Ocean that the Obama administration put off limits weeks before Trump first took office in 2017. A federal judge in 2019 ruled that Trump would need congressional authority to reopen drilling in the Arctic areas that Obama had banned.
“This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. A White House official declined to comment.
Bloomberg earlier reported that Biden was preparing to issue the decree.
The Context:
Trump said on the campaign trail that he would unleash oil drilling in the U.S., part of his promise to rapidly cut American’s energy costs by 50% or more. He has argued that faster permitting, weakened environmental regulations and other measures will unleash production of oil and natural gas and push down prices at the pump.
U.S. oil production reached record levels under Biden, and it is unclear whether American oil giants favor massive increases in domestic drilling, which could further push down prices.
One of Biden’s chief policy efforts has been the advancement of clean-energy technologies that would help reduce the risk of climate change. Those technologies, which include electric vehicles and solar and wind energy, are meant to displace consumption of oil and gas, which produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
The fossil-fuel industry favors the less-restrictive policies of Trump, who has bashed Biden’s clean-energy agenda.
The Big Picture:
The last-minute move by Biden is part of a sweeping effort to shore up his environmental legacy in the final months of his administration, which is also distributing billions of dollars to safeguard favored projects before Trump takes office.
The administration has aimed to protect clean-energy projects at ports around the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency in October awarded billions of dollars to dozens of ports to invest in new solar arrays, decarbonized trucks and other green equipment.
One of the Biden administration’s most aggressive moves is coming from a $400 billion clean-energy lending program inside the Energy Department. In December, the office said it would provide a record $15 billion low-interest loan commitment to California utility company PG&E to support hundreds of projects aimed at fighting the effects of climate change and improving the electrical grid.
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Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk
Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires…
1506 ET – Oil futures rise for a fifth straight session to close the week near a three-month high, helped by optimism about improved prospects for Chinese growth. “At the start of the year, geopolitical uncertainty and Chinese economic resurgence are aligning positively, contributing to the upward move in oil prices,” Pepperstone strategist Ahmad Assiri says in a note. “Although the average market outlook for 2025 suggests crude oil prices will hover around the mid-$70s per barrel, geopolitical risks will remain a recurring factor capable of driving oil prices toward new equilibrium levels.” Greater optimism around industrial activity in China “may challenge the fundamental assumptions underpinning market forecasts,” he adds. WTI settles up 1.1% at $73.96 a barrel, and Brent advances 0.8% to $76.51 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1429 ET – Rising energy demand is expected to drive up investments in clean energy this year despite the uncertainties around the new Trump administration’s policies for the industry, says Michael Bonsignore, a partner at the corporate-and-finance practice of law firm Hogan Lovells. “The way we really see Trump 2.0, the pie is growing and the scale of investments is growing,” he says. As examples of nascent clean-energy markets prone to attract investments, he cites small modular reactors, green ammonia and hydrogen, as well as pipelines to transport the fuels. Bonsignore says there are a lot of ammonia projects in Louisiana and Eastern Texas. “In a new Trump administration, you could see that area growing and then a focus more on the midstream.” (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)
1332 ET – Rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. slipped by one this week to 482, while rigs directed at natural gas edged up by 1 to 103, oil services company Baker Hughes reports. Oil rigs averaged 480 in 4Q, versus 500 in 4Q23. U.S. producers have maintained record output with fewer rigs, with prospects of further increases this year. “We’ve gotten a lot more efficient. U.S. producers can make money at lower prices. Drilling longer laterals lowers your cost per barrel, and we’ve found better ways to complete the wells which lowers the cost per barrel,” says Adam Ferrari, CEO of Phoenix Capital Group, a small producer with current output around 20,000 barrels a day. “We’re going to continue to increase our production as long as prices remain within this $65-$75 range.” (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0936 ET – Crude futures are higher and heading for weekly gains as the New Year came in with optimism that Chinese economic stimulus could support demand in 2025, and U.S. crude oil stocks were reported down for a sixth consecutive week, although the size of last week’s draw was at the low end of estimates. “We see crude staying within a holding pattern as some positive signs of the China’s economy emerge,” Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital says in a note. WTI is up 0.6% at $73.57 a barrel, and Brent is 0.4% higher at $76.20 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com
0337 ET – Tullow Oil’s successful tax resolution in Ghana removes a contingent liability and improves the company’s ability to refinance its debts, Davy Research analyst Colin Grant writes. Tullow is no longer liable for $320 million of taxes due to the Ghana revenue authority and will have no future exposure to branch profits remittance tax under its petroleum agreements, he says. The decision helps support the company’s other two tax cases in the country, Grant adds.